


Waiting for Him

by destroyerofstars (magic8ball331)



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-03 01:03:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10956459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magic8ball331/pseuds/destroyerofstars
Summary: A drabble/character study of Jason Todd.





	Waiting for Him

You die on April 27th, 11:32 PM, in Bosnia. You were fifteen. That stupid clown in the purple suit ripped you from the Bat's side in the blink of an eye, and He is all you can think of when the metal slams into your side and knocks the air out of your lungs. 

The bomb is what stops your heart, stills your breath, silences your mind. The crowbar is what kills you. the crackling sound your lungs make when you try to breathe, like gravel grinding against your rib bones. Iron and copper mingle at the back of your throat.

He laughs. That is what kills you. Those are the moments that haunt you in your sleep for years to come. The bomb is different, it is not the crowbar. It is fast. A flash of heat and blinding light and it is over. Nothing like the crowbar. Nothing like the swing of metal, shining in the moonlight, your own blood reflected in the evening light. It is not whispering his name under breath like a prayer. He'll be here soon. He has to be here soon. You can see him in your mind's eye, slamming a fist into Joker's red lips. You keep muttering his name under your breath through the gurgling blood that is building up in your lungs. At some point, your lips form the words soundlessly. He'll be here soon, Batman will be here soon, you'll be okay. He will come find you like he did that one night so long ago. 

But Joker arcs the crowbar in the moonlight again,it shines red now. Oh God. so Red. you spit up blood onto the dirt floor, your life seeps out from the space in between your ribs. You do your best to hide the fear, to tuck it away deep inside of you, to hide it from even yourself. But how can you? His laughter rings in the air, and you feel the sickening crunch of another rib breaking, breath coming in shallow gasps.

You wonder what Richard would do. But you can't drag your body from the ground to even channel him, feel your body slump against the ground, Joker pressing his foot into your back as you try and crawl away. The room flashes red when he hits you again. For a minute, you think the Crowbar is even laughing. 

Sometimes you can still hear him laughing at you, taunting you, even years later. But the bomb is always relief.

The crowbar breaks all of Jason Todd's ribs and punctures his lungs, and it molds him into you. If you've died once you can't be broken again. That's what you tell yourself anyway. You can ignore it, you think, by hiding under a red hood. If Jason Peter Todd is dead, you don't have to admit it.

You don't have to admit that he is you, that you are forever trapped in a cottage in Bosnia. That you can still feel the crowbar shattering your ribs. The laughter. The desperation. Taste the blood in your mouth, you're still afraid. you've always been afraid. And Bruce, the Bat...He can never save you. 

But, you will always be waiting for him to come for you. Always.


End file.
